About Shen Wei 沈玮

Whether photographing portraits of objects, individuals, amorous couples, or even himself, Shen Wei imbues his images with the dramatically cast sunlight of Dutch Old Masters paintings. The artist, born and raised in Shanghai and now working in New York, uses photography to study the human impact of China’s economic ascendency. But Shen is perhaps best known for his nude portraits full of raw intimacy—as in his images of himself silhouetted by sunlight streaming through a window or couples perched on the edge of a disheveled mattress; he cites Diane Arbus among his favorite photographers. In 2009, he gave fruits and vegetables the same photographic treatment for Aperture’s “NYC Green Cart Photography Commission” series.